


Cloudy, with a Chance of Veggie Burgers

by dcjuris



Series: Being Human [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Established Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester, Established Relationship, Human Castiel, Human Castiel in the Bunker, M/M, Wincest - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 04:18:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12182745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dcjuris/pseuds/dcjuris
Summary: The boys go grocery shopping with Castiel. It could've gone better.





	Cloudy, with a Chance of Veggie Burgers

"Hey." Sam bumps his shoulder against Dean. "Where's Cas?"

Dean shrugs. "He went to find nuts."

"You let him go off alone?" For fuck's sake, they  _talked_ about this. 

Dean rolls his eyes. "We're in a grocery store, not a mine field."

"Well it might as well be for him! What if he decides to eat something because it looks interesting and it turns out he's allergic?" Because Cas—millennias old, former angel Cas—has the real-world experience of a toddler.  There could be misunderstandings. Allergies. Accidents. These things have occurred to Sam. All kinds of things have occurred to Sam. 

Dean's eyes go almost comically wide. "Oh."

"Yeah.  _Oh_. I'll go find him." Sam shakes his head and stomps off. God, Dean can be so damn clueless sometimes. He scans the baking aisle as he passes it. No Cas. He turns left and heads for the produce. No Cas. Sam balls his hands into fists and mutters a string of curses as he rounds back toward Dean. On the way, he finds Cas standing in front of the meat counter. He's got a package of something clutched in his hands, pressed against his chest, and he's breathing hard. "Cas?"

Cas starts at his voice and snaps his head around. "Sam."

There's so much anguish and horror in that single word. Sam moves toward him, drawn by some bone-deep instinct to try and protect him. "What's wrong? What...what've you got there?"

Cas looks up and down the meat counter. "So many animals, Sam. So many dead."

"Cas..." And what do you say to that? He's right. 

"They have souls. Animals. Did you know they have souls, Sam? A lot of people think they don't, but they do." His fingers puncture the plastic wrap and blood starts dripping down the front of his shirt. He shudders, his face twisting up into an agonized grimace. 

"Okay. Just..." Sam pries the package of meat—chicken, it turns out _—_ away from Cas and tosses it back into the meat case. He'll feel bad about it later. Right now, he needs to get Cas out of here. Sam takes his arm and steers Cas away, pulls out his phone with his free hand to shoot Dean a text.  _Taking Cas to the car._  

_Wtf happened??_

"They feel pain, Sam." Cas looks back over his shoulder.

"I know." Sam runs one hand up and down Cas' back, presses it between Cas' shoulder blades to keep him moving.  _Freaked out over meat._

_Meat??? They out of bacon??_

_Dead animals._ Dean doesn't reply. Sam shoves his phone back into his pocket and leads Cas outside. He stops them at the Impala's trunk. "Let's get you cleaned up."

"I can't wear this." Cas pulls at his shirt with shaking hands, but he can't manage the buttons. Tears start to slide down his cheeks. 

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Here..." Sam makes quick work of the buttons, slides the shirt off Cas' shoulders. "There. Okay, it's gone."

Cas runs a hand down his chest and frowns. "It's... Sam it's on me!" He rubs at his skin and slings his hand. 

Sam pops the trunk and grabs out a bottle of water. He splashes it on Cas' chest and fishes out a rag to dry him off. God, but he's bad at this. He's never really had to take care of anyone. He's only had Dean in his life, and Dean rarely lets him assume the caretaker mode, even when they're _both_ sick. "There we go. Better?"

Cas hides his face in his hands and sobs.

Sam pulls him into an awkward hug and nods to a couple who walk past.  

It's not until later, when they're back at the Bunker—Cas sleeping in a Xanax-induced mini-coma—that Sam gets a moment to talk with Dean. They're in the kitchen, unloading the groceries. "He was just standing there, holding the chicken. I felt so bad for him. We have to be better at preparing him, Dean."

"I shouldn't've let him wander off." Dean grabs out a bag of frozen peas, opens the freezer and tosses them in like he's throwing a basketball. "Score!"

Sam reaches into a bag and pulls out a box. He looks down at it, dumbfounded.  _Fresh Farm Veggie Burgers_ glares up at him in bright, red letters. He looks into the other two bags. No meat—just more of the same. Veggie burgers. Vegan pizza. Vegan pizza? How is that even going to taste? "Did you get any meat at all?"

Dean shrugs. "Can't have him going postal every time we eat a meal. We'll talk to him. Ease him into it. Give him a couple weeks to decide this stuff isn't really food. Once he tastes bacon, he'll get over it."

Sam stares at Dean, his chest tight, a lump of emotion lodged in his throat. 

"What?"

"Nothing." Sam holds out a package of burgers. "I just love you."

Dean scoffs and rolls his eyes as he snatches the box and shoves it in the freezer. "You might change your mind after two weeks of this shit."

Sam smiles. "I doubt it."

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also a published author. If you like my writing style, check out my published works on Amazon by searching "DC Juris" - that's me. :-)


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